Wow. That was a really good book. It is beautifully written, and was extremely captivating while also being perhaps the most philosophical book I have ever read. I began this book because it was a requirement to read a 19th century (or older) novel for my Honors Humanities class, but this is the kind of book that I would have been enthralled by on my own time.

The ending was definitely not what I expected, as you can probably guess from the image shown on the right. Throughout the book, I never really knew what to think, and after some of the thoughts that he had during the final pages of the book, I came to a simple conclusion: he was the epitome of beauty, but a vile and wicked person.

If you're wondering, just for closure, James Vane was killed accidentally during a hunting trip by the brother of a friend of Dorian's (James was planning on murdering him), Alan Campbell, Dorian's chemist friend that decomposed Basil's body, committed

suicide, and Dorian never confessed to the murder of Basil to anyone before his death. If you have read any of the blog posts, then I apologize for the massive spoilers that they contain. Even so, I urge you to pick up this book anyway and give it a shot. It is an incredible piece of work, and I am sure that it will still be riveting even if you know what is going to happen.

Like The House on Mango Street, The Fault in our Stars, and Harry Potter, The Picture of Dorian Gray now joins the extremely exclusive list of books that I plan to read again (in the case of Harry Potter for an eighth time) in the distant future, because while what they made me experience the first reading was incredible, I know they will seem like totally different works when I return to them.

I have a "Note" list on my phone entitled "Books I have read waiting for The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire Book Six)," and while The Picture of Dorian Gray will go onto that list, I think it is the first book that is on there that I will view as more than just a placeholder.

For what seems like the first time in the book, Dorian Gray's actions are finally having some consequences. He is finally feeling remorse because of what he did to Basil, but not because he recognizes that it was wrong and he feels sorry for it, but because he cannot make himself to forget what happened.

Dorian also went to visit Adrian Singleton, a young lad who fell under the terrible influence of Dorian Gray, and who now lives in an opium brothel. Adrian has become such a pathetic specimen that even Dorian pities him, and before Dorian leaves, he reminds Adrian that if he needs anything, he needs but write Dorian a letter, and Dorian will assist him with whatever he needs. As Dorian is departing, a poor and reckless decision from his past once again bites him in the ass.

As he is leaving, one of the women whose services are for sale calls after him with the title "Prince Charming." There is a man half passed out at the bar, but as soon as he hears that name, he shoots up, and chases after the man who the prostitute just referred to with that name. As he reaches him, the man grabs Dorian by the neck, and slams him against the wall.

That is when the man reveals that he is James Vane, and as he pulls a gun out of his coat, he explains that for the past eighteen years he has been searching for the man responsible for the suicide of his little sister Sibyl Vane. She was engaged to a man, and she never knew his name, she simply referred to him as "Prince Charming," the identity of whom he thought he would never discover. In a stroke of minor genius that saved his life, Dorian urged James to push him into the light. That is when James realized that the man he was threatening could not have been more than twenty years old, and shamefully apologized and let him go.

Of course, James was unaware of the terrible wish Dorian had made, and so had no way of knowing that he had in fact captured the correct person, and that Dorian had not aged a single day of the eighteen years that had passed.

When James returned to the opium house, the prostitute then revealed that she had met the man whom he had chased after (Dorian) almost 18 years ago, and that he looked exactly as he did then, now. James set out running again, but was unable to track down Dorian on the same night a second time.

When I left off reading, Dorian had been hosting a house party, when he had gone down to his garden to pick some flowers for one of the women who was present at his dinner. The guests came rushing after him when they heard a loud thud, and they found him unconscious on the floor. When he regained consciousness, he reveals to the reader that he fainted out of fear, as he had seen James Vane staring at him through the window.

If Dorian feels any remorse for his actions in previous chapters, he has yet to show any sign of it. His mistreatment of his once fiancé Sybil Vane seems saintly after he has truly revealed himself to the reader. The chapters I have read since the last time I posted on this blog have made me think more about another, perhaps more secretive, side of Dorian Gray.

The author of this book, Oscar Wilde, was a homosexual in the wrong place at the wrong time, and from the beginning of the novel, I questioned how heterosexual the main characters actually were. I am 100% confident saying that Basil Hallward was gay,

and the rest of the characters all have individual lines that make you wonder. From the very beginning, I have wondered if Dorian Gray was gay, even when he was engaged to Sybil Vane and when all he could think or speak about was her.

In this section of the book, Dorian Gray asked an old friend, who specialized in chemistry, to dispose of a dead body that remained in his office. His friend complied, and left no trace of the person that once lay there, covered in blood and lifeless. Obviously, Dorian's friend was extremely resistant, but he complied at the end.

I may be overthinking this, but I think that they were once in a relationship that was more than friendly, and then I believe Dorian cut it off. Dorian Gray says that once he and his chemist friend had been even closer than he and Lord Henry were now, and that their friendship had ended so suddenly and abruptly that everyone around town wondered what had happened between the two.

There are several mentions of Dorian's chemist friend at parties, but never is he with a wife or special guest, and whenever Dorian arrives he gets visibly uncomfortable, and usually leaves. I think Dorian was not ready to reveal their relationship to the public, which is why it ended, leaving him heartbroken (who wouldn't be heartbroken? Dorian Gray is supposed to be like the most attractive thing to ever walk this planet). I think that is why he gave in when Dorian asked him to destroy the body, to ensure that Dorian kept his secret, and also because there is some part of him that still remembers what it was once like with Dorian Gray.

I seriously despise this blog post, because I had to interrupt my reading to write it. The past two chapters have undoubtedly been the most enthralling yet. This comes as somewhat of a surprise, as the chapter before these last ones was probably the most dense ten pages I think I have ever read.

In chapter 11, there is no dialogue. In fact, there is not any interaction between the reader and the characters. That chapter's purpose was simply to thoroughly describe the moral and social changes that Dorian has not only embraced, but now also publicly displayed. It goes into excruciating detail explaining the immense wealth of royalty from around the world, what a day in their normal lifestyle looked like, and compared their jewelry and decorations with those that Dorian Gray owned. I also never have had to pause mid sentence to google something before in my life, whether it was an object, a stone, or a word. Eventually, it came to a merciful end, and did not even a paragraph in once again becoming epic.

Chapters 12 and 13 left me flabbergasted. Chapter 12 began with Dorian heading home late one foggy night, when he ran into his good friend Basil Hallward, who had been looking for Dorian all afternoon. Out of good etiquette, Dorian invites Basil in. Basil then tries to begin a very serious conversation with Dorian, but the Dorian Gray capable of having the type of conversation Basil intended to have has long been gone. The purpose of Hallward's visit was to inform Dorian of what is being said about him behind his back before Basil left to a studio in Paris for several months (surprise!).

The conversation then evolves into a discussion about the purity of the soul, and how Dorian must work hard to reclaim his image in the eyes of men, and his soul in the eyes of god. For the first time, Dorian decides to reveal his terrible secret to another. He tells Basil to follow him upstairs into the old study, where he hid the portrait, and promises to reveal to him his soul.

Chapter 13 begins with Dorian locking Basil and himself into the study, Basil thinking this is all a big ploy for who knows what purpose. When Dorian revealed to Basil the state of the portrait, you can feel the pressure and shock emulating from between the characters through the pages. Basil cannot believe that Dorian's soul is in the portrait, but he also cannot make himself believe otherwise; there is no other explanation, logical or illogical, that explains why the portrait grew old and weary and evil while Dorian so exquisitely retained the beauty of youth.

I will not tell you what happens next, because I cannot bear to put such a massive spoiler into writing on a publicly accessible website, but I promise it is something I never saw coming. After this chapter, you lose any perception you may have about who the real Dorian Gray is.

"I didn't say I liked it, Harry. I said it fascinated me. There is a great difference."

This quote stuck out to me because it embodies the way that the characters in this novel think and speak. There is always something more, something hidden, something deep, woven into the speech and thoughts of the characters. This quote also reflects the immense transformation that Dorian Gray has experienced when compared to the beginning of the novel. Dorian Gray from page one would never have said anything of that sort, but now Dorian has been twisted and manipulated by others so much that the only commonality between the character from page one and the Dorian Gray that spoke those words is their beauty.

Even that feels transformed. When Basil first described the beauty of Dorian Gray, the reader could not help but fall in love with him before he had ever uttered a single word in the book. He was handsome, and interesting. Something about his persona drew you in. Now, it feels evil. Dorian has discovered that his soul is not so much in him as it is in the portrait Basil painted of him, and has made him rather reckless; the consequences of his actions are engraved on his portrait, not on him. His face is a stranger to bags under the eyes, his forehead has yet to develop a crease from a wrinkle, his lips remain as full and colorful as always. But his portrait is not so lucky.

The fact that Dorian's beauty is not affected by his actions makes him feel disconnected from his wrongdoings. He sees their affects on his portrait, and he reflects on them the way he would reflect upon the behavior of a different individual, not himself. He as also unnaturally intrigued by the grotesque-essence-that-is-remenicent-of-past-beauty that his portrait contains. I, strangely, think I understand how Dorian feels when he looks at his portrait. When you go to the zoo, and you are in the section where they inhabit all the insects, you eventually come across one that is unappealing by every standard; ugly, hideous, and quite frankly, rather terrifying. But there is something about that specific insect that draws you in more than say, a butterfly. You find yourself looking for the small details that, when brought together, produce a nasty looking animal. It is a different type of fascination than that which we experience when we have encounters with beauty, and sometimes that fascination with grotesque beauty is more demanding for attention than the mere appreciation of that which is beautiful.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" has always been a book that I have wanted to read. In fourth grade I read the words written on the page without reading the book. I was too young and too eager to show off my fast reading skills to understand and follow what was occurring in this novel. I always told myself that when I finished the book I was reading at the time, I was going to read the "Picture of Dorian Gray" next, but something always occurred that kept me from fulfilling that goal. When I found out that one of the

requirements for Humanities Honors Second Semester was to read a novel written in the 19th century or before, I realized that there were no more excuses; I was finally going to read this book.

Now, to actually talk about the book; it is an amazing piece. Wilde wastes no time in getting straight to the point, with the book opening with Basil Hallward socializing with his friend Lord Henry Wotton, as he works on the final touches of his portrait of Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray is an indescribably handsome young fellow whose unparalleled beauty and persona have captivated Basil, and pushed him to produce his ultimate masterpiece; his portrait of Dorian Gray. Once Dorian understands the magnificence of his beauty (thanks to Basil's painting and ill advice from Lord Henry), he makes a horrible wish that eventually comes back to haunt him.

The writing is incredibly poetic, rich with elaborate vocabulary and tantalizing descriptions of moral and social dilemmas that the characters discuss. The characters also go through elaborate transformations; some for the better, some for the worse. The main character, Dorian Gray, is clearly very intelligent, very handsome, very wealthy, and very intuitive; all in all, the picture perfect man that you would want your daughter to marry. His flaws, however, are few but weighty. He is too easily manipulated by the art of beautiful speech, and is a constant slave to his beauty, never escaping the blindness he causes for himself.

The character of Henry Wotton reminds me a lot of Francis Underwood from "House of Cards" for his innate ability to corrupt others and succumb them to his will with nothing but his voice and choice of words. I think he is the kind of person that would describe himself as a dangerous enemy, but an even more dangerous friend. His dialogues are extremely captivating, even though they are quite long. His character lives for paradoxes, and views the lives and experiences of others as "experiments," whom he observes with a scientific like interests as he tries to confirm or disprove his theories about life, society, and existence.

Ten chapters in, I am engrossed with the book, because more than anything else, the writing is so alluring, elegant and graceful. Right now, the wrong Grey is getting the international attention (I'm looking at you, "Fifty Shades of Grey"). I am absolutely looking forward to continuing to read this book.